


Sewer Rat

by Serriya (Keolah)



Series: Interdimensional Bridge [41]
Category: Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Genre: Dimension Travel, Gen, Humanoid Animals, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-16
Updated: 2006-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-09 13:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keolah/pseuds/Serriya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A humanoid rat takes a jaunt to another world, and runs across unsavory things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Sewers

A small rat with brown fur, around four feet tall, headed toward the Nexus. He was dressed all in black, including black jeans and a black Pyroluminescence T-shirt today, along with spiked black leather wristbands and collar. The chain with the faintly glowing crystal almost looked a little out of place on him.

Setti was always looking for new places to explore. Primarily because he seemed to wear out his welcome so much. Why did so many people hate rats? Or maybe they just hated necromancers. Ah, whatever. He always preferred the term "Soul Mage", anyway. It made him sound snazzy, and it wasn't like he was what most people thought of as a "necromancer" anyway. No rotting zombies for him, nosiree.

Yes, he had seen some interesting types coming through here not long ago, and he knew that they had gone somewhere he wasn't familiar with. He used the Nexus enough and spent enough time around it that he could often tell where people were going, perhaps it was some latent Seeking or Catalysm, or somehow tied into his Soul ability. Whatever, he didn't care.

The Nexus logs only identified the place as the "World of Darkness". He'd never heard of it, but it sure sounded interesting. That sounded like a great place to explore, he thought. Eagerly rubbing his paws, he programmed the Nexus to send him there, and dematerialized with a _fwoosh_.

Without the clear mental fix that Fantasia had used to localize the transport, the Nexus had a slightly wider field to work with and chose an area that fell within the parameters of the target zone. Close enough for government or rat work at any rate, or maybe something about the thing had a sense of humor as he popped into a high, mostly dark tunnel that bears a distinctly unpleasant collection of aromas.

The only source of light was a couple of dots far above and a thin line that formed a circle around them. Metals rungs were placed at regular intervals on a slime-covered wall nearby and led up in that general direction. Otherwise, the tunnels extended into the darkness to either side and he could hear the faint scurryings of his smaller rodent kin... and a few sounds that were from something a bit larger.

Setti made a faint smirk of amusement at where he landed, although being a rat, albeit a _civilized_ one, he didn't really mind too much. Sewers were great for moving around and avoiding pursuit, after all. Not that he was being pursued yet. Ah, another fresh world where everyone didn't want to kill him yet. He strolled off to explore his new surroundings.

The sewers weren't as bad as one might expect, a great deal of the city's sewage was actually handled by other means nowadays, but it was still pretty rank after years and years of use. Setti easily figured out the basic design philosophy and plan that the builders had intended, at least for this area, and thought he wouldn't have any difficulty at all figuring his way around down here.

Not that there weren't some unpleasant things lurking down here, and he got a hint of some odd movements now and then as well as flickered of motion in his peripheral vision. Surely it couldn't be _that_ bad down here, he likely assumed, as he ran across a symbol painted on one of the walls of a spiral of some kind.

He cocked his head at that for a moment in puzzlement and figured it must be the mark of a local faction or something. He shrugged a bit and went to see if he could track down some of the native sentient life.

Oh it didn't take long for Setti to find the natives at all, in fact he almost ran smack into one as he rounded a corner. It was a toss-up as to which of them was more surprised. The creature was massively built and equally massively _ugly_ , like some kind of twisted mutant werewolf with green foam flecking its lips and its eyes staring lidlessly. Oh yeah, no beauty-winner this one...

Setti looked up and said, "Well, er, hello there," and quietly kept in mind which direction would be best to run in if it tried to eat him.

Luck really seemed to be whipsawing back and forth for poor Setti, but right now was a good time for fate to smile on him in the guise of a rather _stupid_ Mad One. It cocked its head to one side at the sound of the non-violent voice and leaned forward to snuffle and sniff at the odd creature. Frankly it was puzzled, it smelled like food but bigger and not acting like it.

Being used to the strange variety of beings in Torn Elkandu, Setti wasn't sure what the normal inhabitant of this world is supposed to look like anyway. "My name's Setti, and I'm a Soul Mage. A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure," he said, growing more confident at the not-immediately-eating-him bit. "I'm afraid I'm new in town, though, I just got here."

The creature drew back from Setti, tilting its head as it only understood a small part of what had been said. A couple of thoughts went through his head, a pretty impressive feat for the beast really, the first of which was to make the jumbo-sized rodent the snack it had been looking for, while the second revolved around the beloved hand of the Mistress. There really wasn't much room for choice in that one.

It whurfed at him, then turned and trotted down a tunnel on three legs, the fourth one being more like a thorned tentacle, then looked back at Setti and waved impatiently for him to follow before continuing on into the darkness.

Setti smiled a bit and goes to follow, presuming the creature was some sort of semi-sentient pet or something, and said, "Ah, sure thing, lead the way," with a shrug.

Setti might be surprised at just what it was, all things considered, it didn't exactly look like any sane image of a werewolf nor did it have a glimmer of the sane intellect that they generally possessed in this world. The Spiral was gone in its old incarnation, but there were ways... oh indeed there were still ways, and the Mistress knew them all.

It led the way without any hesitation, and even managed to only make one wrong turn along the way. The nature and cleanliness of the tunnels changed as they went along, becoming drier and looking to be reinforced here and there against the damage that time had wrought. There were few places where rather large skeletons lay crumpled in piles, but the guide dog didn't even pause to sniff at them.

In a little while they emerged into a larger chamber that was actually free of the sewer's stench and appeared to be freshly reoccupied... a rather stunning raven-haired woman reclined on a roughly hewn stone throne at the center with a young man with his eyes put out and a scar at his throat held in place by a chain near her feet.

She snarled something in a voice decidedly out of place with her appearance and the guide whimpered and crawled forward on his belly to lick her feet subserviently. That seemed to mollify her a bit and she turned dark eyes on the newcomer with sharp interest.

"And just who might you be?" she asked in a sultry purr.

Ah, humans, Setti thought. The ubiquitous rat-race of the multiverse. Setti gave a polite bow and said, "Greetings. My name is Setti, a Soul Mage, and I have just arrived in town. A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."

"Senka," she replies silkenly.

Her eyes flared as she snarled at the hideously deformed creature and suddenly shifted to the intimidating bulk of Crinos form to give him a swipe of claws that sent him scurrying from the chamber with a yelp. Even here her appearance was much different, being a sleek werewolf with well-groomed pure white fur. She settled back and licked the foul blood from her talons for a moment.

Changing back to homid form, she continued as if nothing had happened and that the chained slave wasn't now cowering in fear after sensing the presence of her fury. "Interesting," she said, "And what brings you down here, hmm?"

"Oh, the teleportation Nexus I used to get here sent me here," Setti explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world, completely unfazed by her little demonstration.

"Mm," Senka replied absently, idly reaching down to stroke the slaves hair and reveling in his chained fear. "Quite fortunate, or the reverse, that one of my pets found you before nightfall. I doubt the Nosferatu would have had much reason to let a stranger go wandering around in _their_ ," she sneered, " tunnels."

Vampires, he presumed, and figured fairly arrogantly that he could probably deal with them, whether that was actually remotely true or not. He grinned and said, "Certainly, I'm sure."

"Now the question is," Senka nearly purred as she looked him over. "Whether you'll be walking out of _my_ tunnels or end up as a little snack for my pets. It's so hard to find kibble down here these days, things were so much brighter when the Hive was still active..." she sighed.

"Oh, I'd generally prefer being alive if it's all the same to you. I don't much fancy being a wraith and I would imagine I'm probably tough and stringy anyway." He smiled brightly.

Senka's mood was as mercurial as her sanity would seem to dictate and she grinned in response. "Well then perhaps we can reach a small... arrangement that would be of benefit to everyone involved."

"Perhaps, perhaps. What did you have in mind?"

"I'm in need of more information regarding the city above, as much as I can get my talons into," Senka said. "Though of particular interest will be anything having to do with the Garou or any other shapeshifters," she sniffed disdainfully. "The leeches are little threat to _me_ , but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to learn more of them. I'm dreadfully out of date on goings-on here."

"What are the Garou?" Setti asked, not recognizing the term, presuming from context that she meant some sort of shapeshifter obviously. 

"Werewolves," Senka replied with an airy wave. "Again, no great challenge, but they're more dangerous than the leeches. The last I heard they were swarming all over the city above and a stinking cesspit located in the mountains nearby." She tapped a nail thoughtfully to her lower lip. "Mm, and there is one other thing..."

"I'm sure I could find out a thing or two," he said confidently. "What else?"

"There is... a thing," Senka mused, stirring through the sludge of memory, though it was considerably brighter than that of the Mad Ones running around. "A sword, to be precise, one of special sentimental value to me, and I rather believe someone above will have it."

Naturally she'd suspect it, as it had been instrumental in killing Jezzy at least three times before his final stop in Torn Elkandu.

"Bring it to me, preferably with the hide of the one who held it, and I will definitely make it worth your while."

"I am a Soul Mage, dear lady," he replied. "I deal in souls, not filthy pelts. Some details on identifying this specific artifact, perhaps?"

"So do what you wish and bring me proof of it," Senka smiled. "As for the weapon, I think you will find it quite distinctive, a blade of purest silver and shadow some four to five feet long with an unmarked hilt and a tri-faceted gem at the pommel. Do not dismiss it for being silver, as it is quite durable, mystically enhanced, and will sheer through flesh like paper."

Setti gave a nod and said, "Noted. I shall bear that in mind. I'll see what I can do, should I come across it."

"Then come," Senka said, uncurling from the throne and walking toward him. "I'll escort you to the exit and you may be on your way."

Of course she didn't intend any sort of reward at all, fully planning to have the rat followed and used as a stalking horse to get her claws on the blade, but no need to tell _him_ that.

"You may return this way when you have something of interest to report." She headed off to one of the side tunnels.

Setti happily followed her out, quietly thinking to himself that someone with a huge magic sword probably wasn't someone he wanted to mess with, but wasn't going to tell her that.

"I do advise caution on the docks at night," Senka remarked as they continued on a slightly upward-tilted path, and smirked. "They seem to attract the most _unsavory_ sorts, Setites and the like."

It was a pity that things had fallen apart somewhere along the way. She remembered tales of the sandsnake leeches being at the beck and call of the venerable Shayah in the Hive's hey-day. Ah well, such was the task of re-building.

Setti had no idea what a Setite might be, but just decided to take her word on them being ones he didn't want to run into. Since she didn't seem the most "savory" sort herself, anyone she called "unsavory" had to be pretty bad, he figured.

"Certainly, certainly," he chittered.

"And let's see," Senka mused as they passed a side cavern that was thankfully quite dark as the sounds emerging from it weren't fit for polite company and were interspersed with cries and moans of pain that suggested everyone wasn't exactly happy about the matter. "Ah yes, the leeches, be on your guard come nightfall, they swarm all over the streets then, quite the nuisances really, especially as they have a treaty of sorts."

Setti glanced off in that direction briefly, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else, and said, "Are they vulnerable to the usual Undead Turning spells, or are they not?" Who knew what the "usual" spells he meant might be even in the Elkandu Universe...

"Mmm, I somehow doubt it," Senka replied. "They're immune to most things that folklore says should work on them, but they're easily enough dealt with nonetheless."

Of course there was also the very odd attribute of True Faith, which could turn or even _destroy_ the undead, but that was a very rare and ill-understood ability. Magic _was_ known here in a form that the Elkandu would recognize, but it was practiced by a very small percentage of the mortal population. They differed in that they developed an 'avatar' that dwelled in the Umbra/Ethereal plane and drew their power through it.

"No, no, I mean _real_ magic. Folklore is nonsense," he replied. "Although it's very funny to enchant cloves of garlic with undead turning spells."

"I wouldn't count on it," Senka replied with a shrug, then snarled something at another twisted minion who leapt to draw a chain that opened a heavy grate. "This is one of the Hive's entrances. Continue onward and take the first left, then the first manhole up. That will bring you to the surface near the edge of the docks district."

Setti nodded and said, "Sure thing. See you later." He waved a paw nonchalantly and headed off on her directions.


	2. Church of the Resurrection

Setti followed her directions and headed out of the sewers, clambering up into the open streets. Ah, this was more like it. Civilization! Replacing the manhole cover, he struck off into the city, sticking to the shadows and back alleys primarily out of habit than anything else. Not looking for anything in particular just yet, he was just intending to scout around and get a feel for the place and see what there was to find here.

The docks had never quite recovered from the decimation that fell on them in routing out the original Dancer infestation, and the landscape was a fairly bleak and desolate prospect. A few of the original warehouses are more or less intact, but they were few and far between with the areas between a wasteland of rubble and human detritus moving among the occasional bonfire or pile of rusted hulks.

Quite a difference from the city proper, but no one had decided just what to do with it and the decision kept getting put off since the area wasn't vital to the economy and lay outside the bounds of the arcology. When the down and out had no deeper they could sink, they tended to end up here... and prey for the rogue bands of cyberleggers and go-gangs that ruled in the shadow of the city.

Although perfectly comfortable in the place, he nonetheless moved on, figuring there must, naturally, be more to the city than this. Perhaps someplace nice with refreshments and plenty of shadows to listen from, he thought. Everything interesting always happened in the shadows, of course.

A foray at the end of the Unification Wars hadn't done much for the area either, or inspired the city leaders to any great hurry to reclaim the devastated land. The reasoning behind that was clear enough by looking out over the shattered wreckage of the docking area itself, victim of the same unnatural forces which had left eerily tangled rusted hulks poking from the sea like monstrous teeth.

Those hulks were a reminder of the Lasombra-led fleet that had sailed into the port and sought to gain a foothold as one of the last gasps of the Sabbat. They had come under the veil of night, but had not gone unnoticed as a freakish storm had suddenly arisen to batter and send the ships to their doom. The vampires who had sunk into the inky depths had found only teeth and death awaiting them...

Off to the north a ways as he passed the area and sucked past an armed group, Setti could see a large fenced-in area surrounding a bay, also outside the bounds of the city itself. Those boundaries were clearly marked by a shimmering field of force that kept out the elements and stretched up to a point were the old city ended and the upper levels began. Millions of people lived here, but only a fraction in the historic preserve.

The force field, at least, didn't seem to keep _people_ out, as he saw a hovercar go speeding through from this side and continued onto the well-kept city streets beyond.

Setti watched curiously and went to creep in and see what he could see there. He was a civilized rat -- he didn't feel the need to keep to sewers and ruins all the time, even if such places didn't particularly bother him.

The atmosphere as the force field was passed changes dramatically, the heat of the summer night beyond cooling and a faint, fresh breeze ruffling his fur. This side of the city was dedicated primarily to heavier industry, though the sprawling factories were considerably cleaner than they'd been allowed to be in years past and no hint of the pollution that would be expected was found.

There was a good deal of traffic on the road just now, apparently having arrived during the daily shift change as the night shift crews assumed their posts from the sluggards who labored through the day's light. He came across a transit station that took up a good chunk of one block, and people were streaming in and out of it to take busses in the lower level or transit tubes up to the higher ones.

Quietly he made mental notes of the apparent technology level of the area as well as people's general attitudes. He also kept a close eye out for any signs of magic or the like. Mensch were all fine and interesting, but inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, he thought.

Tech levels seemed fairly subdued for the most part, though there were a few indications that things were a bit more complex overall such as the worker cyborg who headed off to its shift... obviously a heavy-duty build, standing well over ten feet tall and bearing all the marks of a lifter. The station was also a contradiction of the simpler appearances, the gleaming efficiency hinting at a very complex control setting.

Beyond those oddities, though, passing the industrial zone brought him to more typical twentieth century architecture and mixture of business/residential. There weren't any of the little details that suggested heavy magic use anywhere, the majority of the populace being pretty mundane humans with a sprinkling of fae here and there and occasional cyber-runner.

Setti was a little disappointed at the lack of blatant magic use, but figured that just meant it must be better hidden, oh yes. Sniffing at the air thoughtfully, he cocked his head and headed further into town, tail waving behind him, searching...

No one paid him any real attention, at least, most likely assuming he was just another odd offshoot of the fae that had become commonplace over time. That didn't mean that there weren't hate groups out there and the occasional outbreak of violence directed at various supernatural groups, but things had quieted down quite a bit after some very... pointed demonstrations by the powers that be.

As the night began to come alive, Setti started to encounter the occasional source of inherent magical ability ranging from relatively weak to _very_ powerful. The vampires tended to hit the streets early and either hunt or make their way to favorite haunts, and the one that he recognized on the powerful side seemed more intent on watching the other vampires in the area. A rather short man wearing a trench coat with a scar at his forehead.

Setti paused and watched quietly from a fair distance. It was always a good idea to know who the more powerful beings in an area were... and not to piss them off.

The man was clearly on the prowl, his attention focusing on one pair of vampires in particular as he settled into an easy walk behind the young-looking man and woman. What exactly he was doing wasn't clear as the two passed an alleyway and he moved suddenly to catch up with them, then grabbed each by an arm and dragged them into the shadows. To still protest, a hand secured each to the brick wall at their throats. A low-voice conversation then ensued, but it wasn't discernible from Setti's current vantage point.

Curiously, Setti closed some of the distance, ears flicking as he padded up quietly. He didn't think vampires usually went after their own kind... maybe things were different here than he was used to.

The pair were looking more than a little terrified and wishing they could bolt, though not chancing it so soon after the man had set them back to the ground and started grilling them.

As Setti moved to an inconspicuous spot nearby he could hear the man's low voice saying, "... get over to Legerdemain _tonight_ , and I'd better see you there or the next time it won't just be a warning. Now get thee hence!"

They didn't require any more than that and quickly scurry out of the alleyway, clearly cowed and terrorized by something the man had said before Setti had gotten into place, and headed off at a run in a different direction than they'd been going. The man snorted in disgust and stepped back to the alley mouth to take a look around, the shifting of his coat revealing hints of more than one weapon concealed beneath.

Setti looked on curiously, trying to stay out of immediate sight, figuring that this was one person that he didn't really care to mess with readily.

The man stood there a moment more, giving Setti the opportunity to realize that it wasn't _just_ the man radiating magic as he managed to pick out hints of several items carried that were generally obscured by the brighter presence. After another look around, the man started back off again and headed down a side street.

Setti's whiskers twitched for a moment. It was tempting, certainly... but he figured he'd be better off trying to steal Sardill's enchanted beer keg. No matter. At the moment, he figured, he was more interested in knowledge anyway. Whatever. He scurried off again.

Setti saw the city come even more to life as the evening ages, the vampires getting out in their numbers and drawing out the inevitable groupies that they no longer have to hide from. It worked out well for everyone involved, even if there were a larger segment of the population that either didn't want to think about it or addressed it with open contempt. That sort tended to stay inside when dark fell, though.

Shapeshifters also began to make their presence known, though it was more a feel of energy surrounding them that tipped a sensitive off than any obvious signs. The fae were a bit more blatant, satyrs plying their trade on more than one street corner or merrily heading from one party to another, with the occasional other odd type mixing in just for variety. Magic certainly seemed more prevalent in the later hours.

Very interesting, he thought, relaxing more and meandering off to mingle a bit. At least, he figured, he wasn't likely to stand out around here. Not that he was generally too concerned about that, with how much he preferred to stay out of sight anyway.

A particular stream of vampire/human refugees flocked onward to what appeared to be a church, the impression confirmed by a discreet sign that announced it as 'The Church of the Resurrection'. Setti noticed one of the people he'd tentatively identified as a shapeshifter curse under her breath after a glance at the place, then continued onward with a continuing stream of obscenities and commentary on human stupidity.

Setti scurried up closer to that building, whiskers twitching curiously. Due primarily to his particular brand of magic, that tended to be something that drew his attention. He looked about for a back door or window or some way to sneak in quietly.

There was a back door but it was securely locked and wouldn't budge, probably in violation of fire safety regulations, but why worry about it when you _owned_ the chief inspector? The windows were equally secure, blackened, and apparently reinforced from the other side... somewhat as might be expected from creatures who had a daylight allergy.

Well, of _course_ things were locked. They always were. But what good rat didn't carry around a way to get around that little problem? He was no Telekineticist, to be sure, but he had a few souvenirs from previous ventures. He pulled out a long, carved key made of bone from his pocket and tried it.

The problem wasn't the door or the locks, unfortunately, rather the steel plating that backs it and was apparently welded into a framework built into the walls. There was no telling how thick it was, as it was put in place with the Garou and other shapeshifters in mind and the intention of frustrating even their strength.

Setti snorted in frustration and pocketed the skeleton key again. Fine, if that was the way they wanted to play. Times like this he wished he could just walk through walls or teleport inside easily. No matter. He went over toward the front door.

Again no one really seemed to pay him any notice or interest, though a twitch of whiskers warned of at least a brief magical inspection as he passed within. The inside was much like a classic church, pews set in long rows with a pulpit and altar at the front. A stainless steel cross-frame bearing at least a superficial resemblance to a cross hung near the altar at an angle... but it had manacles at the cross-pieces.

Unlike some churches, however, the pews were full and there were quite a few more standing in convenient places along the walls as they waited for the evening's service to begin.

Curiously glancing about, Setti took a position out of the way and inspected the sort of people coming here while waiting quietly. The people were a good mix, at least discounting the vampires, ranging from tittering late teens all the way up to middle aged housewives and businessmen oozing with wealth. Silence descended as a thin, pale man in a tailored suit walked out from a side entry and approached the pulpit, all eyes fastening on him with a disturbing hunger.

His message was a bizarre mix of traditional religion and a more practical application of 'salvation' on earth for the worthy who proved themselves through their dedication. Only the true faithful would find their lives begun anew with the blood and flesh given to them from the church. That dedication was apparently shown as a volunteer was asked of the audience and chosen from the sea of hands that eagerly rose.

The supplicant chosen, a young woman, was led up and told to remove her clothing, which she did with minimal reluctance and was then chained to the cruciform. A path to penitence and atonement apparently involves a sacrifice of blood through a willing acceptance of a scourging of the sinful flesh and collection of vital fluids through the channels that ran along the cross's outer edge.

It was difficult to ignore the man's words, a quality of his voice seeming to draw everyone fully into his grasp as the service continues.

Setti wasn't completely blind to the effects of Speech Magic or an equivalent thereof. He quietly wondered to himself if vampires were the only sorts of undead around here and how prevalent they are. After all, while there were a few of them here and there in the Elkandu worlds, they weren't really so widespread or obvious about it...

Naturally the vampire, Reverend Alistair being the name that Setti caught through snippets of eavesdropping, drank the blood that was gathered from the sacrifice. The woman was unchained and taken from the main hall afterward, and he continued for a little longer in the same vein before dismissing his congregation with a final benediction and walked off through the side door.

Odd, considering some of the wealth that was present here, there'd never been a mention of any other donation save that of the blood that was taken.

Setti didn't rush to leave with the others, of course, since he was inside he figured he may as well get a better look around, right?

The congregation began to disperse, some groups talking about an impromptu gathering planned for afterwards, though the mentions of a location were very vague and distinctly quieted. It didn't take long for them to clear out, for the most part, and there was no hint of security staff present as a couple of people came out to clean up after the blood service.

Setti skulked off along the side, looking to head off the side doors and see if they might be hiding anything interesting in here.

Considering the paranoia that was displayed elsewhere, it might be considered strange that the side door wasn't locked and opened up onto a darkened hallway that veered off to the left and had a couple of doors opening off of it.

Setti's whiskers twitched eagerly as he scurried down the hall to take a look at what might be behind the doors quietly.

Perhaps to his surprise, there was nothing in either of them of any real note, certainly no hint of the people that had come this way. One was a comfortably furnished sitting room/office and the other was a well-stocked personal library. Neither looked terribly well-used.

Curious, he thought. Perhaps they had merely teleported out, or made use of a teleportation device, he thought. He made sure to give them a good inspection.

While cliche would seem to indicate the library and a false bookshelf to be the likely culprit, Setti found something much more interesting in the office. The desk appeared to be set over a patch of loose, but carefully blended carpet. Unfortunately the thing was sitting right on top of it and was _heavy_.

There were times when he could wish for super strength or the ability to lift large objects with his mind, Setti thought as he rolled his eyes. He searched through his bag for anything that might be useful, and failing to find anything, muttered, "Well, poo."

He proceeded to shove at the desk a bit, figuring it a useless effort, but whatever. He tried it from a few angles without any success, then had to leap back as it swung away of its own accord after a quiet 'click' at one of his footsteps...

Oh, he thinks, feeling a bit silly, and glancing to see where he might have stepped to do that before taking a closer look at what it was concealing. He... wasn't really sure. There wasn't any obvious sign of a raised spot in the carpet and poking about didn't net any further clue as to the location of the switch. The separate bit of carpet was a bit more enlightening, though, as it could be rolled back to reveal a plain steel hatch.

That's more like it, he figured. He proceeded to see if he could open it and see what was inside. It wasn't difficult to open, the spring-loaded hinges pressing the plate upward after a light push and leaving room for him to pry it up the rest of the way. Revealed beneath it was a narrow passage down into darkness via a steel-runged ladder.

After first checking to make sure he didn't hear anything down there of note, he proceeded to head down. A good reason why people on multiple planets wanted to kill him, for all the sneaking around and getting into places he wasn't supposed to be he ended up doing...

Nothing seemed to emerge from the stillness below, but as he climbed over and down the trapdoor above snapped suddenly back into place and there was a sound that suggested the desk just moved back into place...

Fairly unsurprised and undeterred (at least nobody would notice that he'd gone through there, and he'd been wondering how he'd get it back into place), he continued down. He figured if he needed a way to get out, well, he'd figure that out when he got to that.

The ladder descended about twenty feet and there was a door directly behind him as he sets foot on solid ground again. Listening closely at the door didn't reveal any sound at first, but then there was a distant, muffled scream.

Hmm, that was generally a definite sign that things of an unsavory nature were going on, certainly. He tried the door. It was unlocked and opened up on a room empty of any signs of life, though there were crates stacked here and there with odd bits of language stencilled on their sides. There was another door opposite the one he came in by.

With a brief glance toward the crates pensively, he headed over toward the far door. This one too was unlocked and leads to a stone hallway that goes straight ahead and another branch that leads to the right. The passageways are illuminated by guttering blue flames encased in delicate globes of thin crystal.

Setti continued to creep along down the corridor and looked off down each branch thoughtfully. He turned down the right hand path and headed along there quietly.

A short jaunt brought him to a door with a stronger light seeping from beneath it and a hint of music playing on the far side, if muffled. Setti pauses at the door and presses close to it, listening as well as he can. He didn't care to think if these vampires caught him and his undead turning and controlling spells _didn't_ work on them.

A faint, low moaning could be barely heard from within and his sensitive nose could pick up a trace of old blood and various exotic scents from mundane chemicals to unidentifiable incenses.

Setti waited for a long moment before quietly putting out his hand to see if the door was locked, intending to only open it a crack, if not. This door, like the ones up to this point, wasn't locked even though it had a number of locks that _could_ be set. It also moved on well-oiled hinges without a single creak or squeak, to his relief, and the scent of blood grew cloyingly strong as he looked inside... the woman from upstairs was spread-eagle at the center of a pentagram, chained, and partially vivisected...

Setti peered inside, proceeding to try to analyze the sort of dark magic being used here and not especially wanting to interrupt anyone at this point.

"Oh you've come so far already," came a familiar voice from _behind_ him in the hall. "Why not go further in? I insist." The reverend was standing in the middle of the hall with his arms folded, looking at Setti through dark, emotionless eyes.

Setti blinked in surprise, letting go of the doorknob and turning around. Shit, he hadn't heard anyone coming up behind him... Still, he was hardly in a position to refuse, even if he _knew_ the guy was a Speaker. He turned to go inside.

"How kind of you to join me," the man said politely, closing the door after them, and Setti could feel a momentary flicker of magic as the door sealed. "It is rare indeed that I receive surprise visitors. Please, have a seat. Would you like anything? Wine perhaps? Opium?"

The chamber was cluttered with mystical paraphernalia of all sorts, with various vile things brewing over low and high flames on the counters along one wall. Another wall was covered in bookshelves, these volumes exuding a great deal of age and more than a hint of magic memory. There were a couple of comfortable-looking lounge chairs sitting near the shelves, and it was those that his host gestured to as he walked gracefully to an incongruously modern refrigerator and opened the door.

Setti took a glances about the room, especially the books, and took a seat. "No, thank you," Setti said. The not-immediately-trying-to-kill-him bit was both simultaneously reassuring and worrying. But perhaps he could find some way to work this to his advantage. He could rarely figure out how to work being ripped to pieces to his advantage.

"As you wish," the other replied and drew a glass of wine for himself and added a splash of blood to it as well as a sprinkling of white powder before turning back to look at his 'guest'. "So," he remarked, walking forward and stepping over the bloody woman who whimpered and writhed helplessly and then settling into one of the chairs. "Tell me, what brings you here, hmm? You aren't without power yourself, which intrigued me."

"My name's Setti," he said, "Soul Mage, necromancer... I was... curious..."

A finger dipped into the thickened wine and stirred gently, then he licked the tip clean. "Mmm, you do know what they say about curiosity and cats, I presume, so what might that suggest to you of rats?"

Setti smirked. "Nah, cats do stupid things just because they can and don't realize how stupid they are. But me? No. Never just that, nuh-huh. Might know it's stupid, but well, when the potential benefits outweigh the risks..."

"Oh?" the vampire raised its brows in mock shock. "And what possible benefit might you expect to gain of walking blithely into the lair of one who remembers walls long gone to dust? Many names over the ages, and none have been particularly associated with generosity and the overflowing milk of human kindness..." He chuckled and took a sip. "Even the title of the world's wickedest man at one time. Droll, is it not?"

Setti grinned. "Quite a bit I would imagine. But then, nothing is ever free. Unless you can take it without anyone noticing or conniving them out of it, I imagine..."

"That would be... difficult." The vampire smiled coldly. "And most ill-advised, as there is nowhere that you might hide from me were it to succeed. But..." He waved a hand dismissively. "That aside, I find myself wondering what you might think you could offer me that I would consider worthwhile in exchange for my goodwill."

"I have artifacts and knowledge from dozens of worlds," Setti said. "Mmm, yes. Do you know about the Nexus?"

There were millennia of knowledge behind those dark eyes, many things that were forgotten in the mists of time and for the better, but there was also an insatiable lust for _more_. "The Nexus?" he replied calmly, no hint of his true interest. An interesting note, his aura was simple, showing no hints of what powers might possessed, nothing more than a normal mortal... clearly a well-considered deception.

Setti grinned broadly. "The Nexus of Torn Elkandu. The Center of the Universe, some call the place. But the Nexus itself is a large magical device that allows instantaneous teleportation to countless different worlds..."

"I might find such information valuable," the vampire conceded. "Yet will we need discuss the matter of payment for it, provided it truly is of use to me, hmm?"

Setti's mouth watered greedily as he thought about just what unique arcane knowledge this creature must possess. The advantage of dimensional travel was that often a single world would know a lot about a subject, but completely overlook things that were obvious to another world... "Mmm, certainly," he said.

"Just so," the vampire replied with a satisfied nod, on completely familiar ground at this point. "And what particular aspects of the occult and magick might you be most interested in? I have had... a considerable amount of time to refine a great number of exploratory avenues, and the advent of Tremere's folly had at least the advantage of opening others before the clan's 'unfortunate' demise."

"My own particular abilities lean toward manipulating the cycle of life and death artificially, dealing with souls and spirits, the undead... That kind of thing," he said, giving a shrug and a faint smirk.

"Ah, the life sciences," the vampire replied in full understanding, many of his own pursuits falling well within those lines. "I think that perhaps an arrangement may be made which you would find satisfactory, though I think that it would be advantageous on my part to ascertain that your own portion of the trade is proper coin..."

"Certainly, certainly," Setti said, smiling in anticipation.

"Then let us, as the saying goes, get down to business," Alistair replied, a glimmer of Setti's own anticipation reflecting in his eyes. It had been so long since he'd experienced anything truly _new_ that he was quite jaded beyond all measure, the prospect of another world or worlds entire...

Setti stood and moved closer. "You wish to see the Nexus then?" He held out his hand. "I can take us there."

Alistair narrowed his eyes, looking at the other's hand as though a snake, then turning his gaze to the other's eyes. "It would be ill-considered indeed to trust to the good nature of another to take me elsewhere and trust to them for a return if it was wished, would you not agree? Besides there is little use in that which is not within my own power to attain."

"Anyone can use the Nexus if they know how," Setti said. "What would you ask for my trust? I could describe the method if you wish."

"That would be infinitely preferred," Alistair replied, the idea of placing himself at the mercy of another being for any reason not only running against the nature of the Beast but below his own sense of dignity.

Setti nodded, and proceeded to describe how to locate the energy beacon of the Nexus and use it to return to it, trying not to instill too much obscure Elkandu jargon in the process. Alistair listened intently, converting the principles conveyed into the twisted lines of logic and reason he'd developed over the millennia and finding that they meshed perfectly in certain small, theretofore frustratingly elusive segments.

"I see..." he said at last, eyes gleaming.

"Got it?" Setti said. He knew Elkandu magic was sometimes weird to those who weren't used to it, and hey, he didn't describe how to use the Nexus to get _out_ of Torn Elkandu again. Not that that part was hard to figure out once you were there anyway.

"Oh yes indeed," Alistair replied in a whisper, the possibilities of it spinning in his mind as he tied one thread to another to complete an entire series of branchings he'd been forced to abandon along the way. "That will do... quite nicely. I think the coin is well-paid..."

He muttered a sharp, profane syllable and gestured, a previously undetected field around the shelves vanishing after a flare that revealed them.

"Delve as you will," he said, "I will allow the passing of this night for you to examine whatever you wish, unless something more... specific is of interest?"

Setti grinned, rubbing his paws together eagerly, and said, "No, it shall do nicely I believe." He went over to take a look and browse.


	3. Undead Turning

Setti Recalled back to the Nexus of Torn Elkandu, where he saw _another_ couple of vampires glancing over the time zone charts. Ah, he recognized one of them as Sarril Farmer. They must be locals, then.

He wanted to try out a new undead repellant spell he was working on, but neither of them were inclined to cooperate. Meh, he couldn't really blame them, he supposed. If he were them, he wouldn't trust him either.

They did, however, direct him toward another group of vampires that had set up shop in Torn Elkandu who might help with that. Setti poked off in the direction the female vampire had pointed warily, not really trusting her assurance that they'd be helpful and really hoping that if they tried to rip his head off, that his turn undead spell _would_ work.

Setti headed out away from the Nexus, looking for any sign of these other vampires. He figured they should fairly well stick out. He wasn't so poor a Soul Mage that he couldn't read auras, of course.

Setti found himself walking for a little way, nearly to the end of Souls Road, and the odd graveyard was in sight as he caught a glimpse of two pale auras disappearing into a blank, bland building.

Aha, he thought, scurrying in their general direction. He wasn't surprised to think vampires would be setting up shop so close to the graveyard, and the Memorial of Lost Souls.

The interior wasn't lit just yet as they aren't expecting any business quite this soon in the project, but Setti could see well enough in the light filtering through the open door. A few crates were stacked neatly along one wall, but the entry was otherwise empty except for a curved desk that would end up being the receptionist's domain.

A man was crouched behind the desk, humming to himself as he tinkered with wires and a computer. His aura wasn't what Setti was looking for, though, being the unnaturally bright shades that identifies a shapeshifter.

Setti wondered to himself just what sort of operation was going on here. Vampires and shapeshifters? How odd. He crept in quietly and peered about, looking for the vampires.

The Glass Walker was quite enmeshed in his work and didn't notice as Setti poked his snout in, a part of that focus becoming quite clear as Setti spotted an unusual sight... the shapeshifter communicated in a rapid-fire series of high-pitched hisses, keens, and clicks with a hand-sized metallic spider that was sitting on the desk and gave the impression of being somewhat put out. It wasn't happy to be so far from home.

It was simple enough to slip past into the interior halls without notice, the conversation continuing unabated as Setti passed. The hall had a couple doors on the outer side, and made a right some twenty or so feet in. No sign of the vampires yet, though the second door on the left was open.

Setti wondered at that odd display, but was hardly that interested in technology and thought it was just some weird techno thing. He crept ahead and peered into the open door.

There was another shapeshifter in here, and what she's doing isn't immediately clear. A little further thought and examination, though, and considering the partitions into smaller areas, would indicate that this is going to be some sort of containment facility. Weird bits of odd tech are strewn around, wires sprouting from behind open metal panels, and several more of the odd spiders appear to be at work.

Definitely a sleek combination of magic and technology going on here. The various workers were again apparently intent on their work and paid no heed to the rat sneaking about. There was one more door revealed by the turn of the hall, halfway down on the right, and the hall dead-ended a few feet beyond it.

Setti wasn't too interested in the techno-magic, though if Suzcecoz were here she'd be all over it, naturally. He scurried down to the next door and figured they couldn't be anywhere else unless they snuck out somehow, and went to see about peeking inside.

Yep, that was where the two vampires ended up, a functional office that was in the process of being arranged and set up to their specific designs. The two bland and unremarkable men were standing to one side, conversing in a low, calm tone and going over some sort of security issue that was currently being looked at.

Setti wondered why he kept sneaking into places occupied by vampires like this. He cleared his throat politely and said, "'Scuse me, am I interrupting anything?"

"Not really," a voice came from behind him, a fraction of a second after there was a muted shimmer of multi-hued light. The newcomer strode past and into the office. "Get Reboot back on the shields, the phase modulation needs some tweaking." They nodded briefly, then filed out past Setti without a second glance. "So, what can I do for you?" Falk asked.

"Uh. Hi," Setti said. "I was hoping that I could get some assistance in testing to see whether an undead-repellant spell I developed works on vampires from your world... um... preferably without them attempting to kill me too much..."

Falk's eyes narrowed as he studied the rat's aura again, drawing the conclusion from the coloration and the statement. "Necromancy, eh? Hmm." He stalked around to settle into a reclining chair and rocked for a thoughtful moment. "Something might be arranged, but I'm sure you're aware that things like that aren't free or without some danger. Our business here isn't general assistance, after all."

"Oh, certainly," Setti said, grinning a bit. "Nothing worth having comes without a price, after all. I'm sure something could be arranged, yes..."

Falk nodded. "Alright, we'll call it a favored owed, then, and I'll even toss in for free that it won't be anything detrimental to you. Fair enough?"

"Certainly, certainly," Setti saus, grinning eagerly. That was a better promise than he usually got, anyway, and had to wonder for a moment what the catch was.

Falk nodded, then cocked his head, "Ready for your test, then?"

"Yup."

He channeled his magic and prepared the spell carefully. He hadn't really refined it yet to the point where he had a specific set of threads and weaves laid out in his mind and able to cast on a moment's notice, but he had a good idea on how it was supposed to work.

Falk steepled his fingers, and a moment later one of the vampires reappeared at the door.

"You called, Sire?" the other vampire asked.

Falk nodded, then flicked a finger in Setti's direction. "Kill him."

Real-time street testing, that was the real mark of success or failure. The vampire didn't acknowledge, instead blurring immediately into motion with apparently quite real and deadly intent.

Setti's spell was firmly in place by that point, and rather than manage to get anywhere close to him, the vampire ended up pinned solidly against the far wall. The vampire flicked his wrist to send a double-shot pistol into his hand that he could twist without any effort and began to squeeze the trigger...

"Hold," Falk commanded calmly, and the other moved away from the trigger with deliberate obedience. "Not bad," Falk mused, studying the threads that the other had thrown out with a critical eye.

Setti released his spell after a moment to be sure that he wasn't going to get shot at. "Well, seems the spell does work after all." He was clearly very pleased.

The other vampire looked to Falk in question, then disappeared back through the door at a silent nod and a mental note.

"So it would seem," Falk agreed. "Though I wouldn't rely on it exclusively, there's any number of things a bloodsucker can do that don't require being near you and there's always a way to counter anything else. On the whole, though, it should work well to keep your tail safe against the average leech."

"Comforting," Setti saus dryly. "Now, what did you have in mind by means of payment?"

Falk waved it off. "I'll think of something eventually, I'm sure." He scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm, I'll toss something else in as a bonus that your little trick reminded me of."

Taking a laptop out of the desk, he flickered through a series of screens and then brought up a display of what he's looking for, turning it to show the screen to Setti.

"Tremere used something similar," he said. "Similar approach, though they applied it to warding to keep other bloodsuckers out, causing some serious damage in the meantime." He smiled, thin and cold. "Bear in mind that the original manuscript is something I took out of one of their chantries, which had been warded..."

He left Setti to ponder the meaning of that and motions to the screen which showed a scan of an ancient spell.

Setti looked it over in interest, grinning a bit as he gave it a good look over. This wasn't going to come free, he thought, of course. But then, he always believed it better to work for people who could kick his ass than against them. Until someone who could kick his ass worse came along.

Setti found that the approach wasn't that different than what he'd come up with, only a few refinements added in to cause the interloper harm. Of course _his_ was an offensive sort while the ward was defensive, but he could readily adapt it to his own purpose.

"I have one other question," Setti said, after reading that over. "How did you come by Torn Elkandu, in the first place?"

Falk smirked. "A three-for-one? Mm, no, I don't think so. Information's a pretty damned valuable commodity."

Seeing that Setti was done, he blanked the screen and returned the laptop to its drawer. He wasn't worried about security there -- the Glass Walkers and he were on _very_ good terms, and Gaia help whoever tried to open that thing without his permission.

"Mm, one could hope," Setti said, smirking faintly. "So far as I knew, the only vampires who knew about the Nexus were the ones native to Lezaria, and this one fellow, called himself Alister or something like that..." His whiskers twitched.

"Hmm," Falk looked at the rat thoughtfully. "There's another, but she's of no consequence, a Torrie flit. You've piqued my interest, though, and I think we can make a deal on trading tidbit for tidbit. Tell me about this other leech that knows about it."

"The one with Sarril? I seen her, but I thought she was one of his, as I picked up Dragonblood in her." Setti shrugged. "This one fellow was preaching at some sort 'Church of the Resurrection' or something of that nature," Setti went on. "He had some rooms underneath the building and was doing something rather unpleasant to some girl, and he had some very interesting books there too."

"Reverend Alistair," Falk replied, smiling thinly. "Now, now, isn't that just interesting?"

His fingers danced a rapid tattoo rhythm on the desktop as he went over the information he has stored in memory about _that_ particular leech. There was plenty of it that had been 'questionable' but this had been the first indication that there was more going on than he'd been aware of. Interesting indeed.

"Fair enough," Falk nodded, returning his full attention to Setti. "As for how I got here, I was working on duplicating a trick my shapeshifter friends are capable of. You'd call it Dreamwalking. Succeeded at it, then found a very interesting ethereal thread while having a chat with a local weaverling the size of a Mack truck and followed it here."

"That's interesting," Setti said "I've heard of things like that happening before... some people don't even realize what they're doing or why and just end up in Torn Elkandu looking very confused. I believe I shall leave you to your business now, then, but if there's anything else that might be wanted of me, do give me a call." He smiled rattishly.

"Count on it," Falk replied. "I never forget a favor owed, one way or the other. I think you know the way out."

"Certainly. Oh yes, my name's Setti, by the way," Setti said. He certainly wasn't above betraying someone he had no particular connection to in the first place if he thought he might gain something from it -- after all, he had only paid the fellow in knowledge of how to use the Nexus, not in silence.

Falk somehow doubted that there wasn't more to the rat's tale than he was letting on. One generally didn't get into a leech's inner sanctum without their permission. He smirked as Setti left, dragging out the familiar old adage 'No honor among thieves', and went back to his own work.

"Reboot!" Falk shouted, "Get your fuzzy ass in here!"


End file.
